Five People Who Found Out About Barriss and Lumina
by Minion Of Sekhmet
Summary: Jedi who love are forced to keep that love secret but even the best slip up at times. Five different people, five different stories. Or rather, six. Luminara/Barriss femslash.


Five People Who Found Out About Barriss and Luminara (And One Who Didn't)

One: A Merchant on Ansion

Branka prided herself on knowing customers, knowing when she could charm them into purchasing, when she could drive a hard bargain and when she should back off. She knew when customers were buying for family, friends or lovers. Her jewellery was well known in the markets of the capital; it was beautiful, it was reasonably priced and it wasn't too flashy. An unassuming luxury.

She had been running her store for fifteen years now and Branka thought she had seen it all; the skullduggery of a husband buying for both wife and mistress and the temper tantrums thrown by women when lovers wouldn't buy them a gift. Once she was surprised by such antics but now, after all her years as a merchant, Branka knew that no behaviour could shock her anymore. Or so she had thought until one day a Mirilan woman had poured over her jewellery.

While Mirilans were not common on Ansion, the young woman was hardly exceptional. She had looked at the jewellery with the airs of someone who means not to buy, Branka knew almost instantly, but the Ansion could hardly fault her. She obviously liked what she saw if the longing look on her face was anything to judge by and so Branka had smiled sweetly and treated as she would any other customer. Branka knew this type of person, she had her alien customer figured out, and while she wouldn't get a sale out of her that wasn't a reason to ignore her.

It was when a second Mirilan stopped at her tent that Branka thought maybe she had misjudged her alien customer. Perhaps there was a sale to be had? The new woman was older than the first but not too old, certainly not old enough to be a mother, but she looked too young to be a sister if Branka's knowledge of humans was correct. And they knew each other if the warm smile and greeting from the younger was of any indication, yet there was a hint of formality under all the affection that was evident in the women's tone. The older woman rested a hand on the younger's shoulder and said something Branka didn't catch before the younger excused herself, leaving the stall.

And that was when Branka understood, when she truly figured her customer out. She wasn't sure which clue lead her to comprehension, whether it was the lingering hand on the shoulder, the elder woman's face when she watched the younger one go or the way the first Mirilan turned and looked back. Branka may have been an Ansion devoted to her business, but she knew love and romance, she saw it every day in her line of work, but there were rare times when it seemed so pure to her as this.

The Mirilan left at her stall turned back to Branka and the Ansion native favoured her with a warm smile; it widened as the woman pointed out the necklace the other alien had been gazing at and removed a number of Credits from her belt. "How much?"

Branka shook her head. "I'll give you a discount. It is not often I see two people with such a beautiful connection."

The Mirilan's eyes widened and she opened her mouth but Branka cut her off. "I know customers and I know what love looks like."

Two: A Tribe Chief's Daughter

Luca Una was the favourite of her father, an important Chieftain. She was precocious, pretty, eight years old and had the whole tribe wrapped around her finger. And she knew it. Luca was fairly pleased with the way she could always coax a treat out of the elders or a toy from her father or a hug from her mother. All the visitors to the tribe remarked on her pretty looks and sweet nature, Luca even had the Jedi who came wrapped around her finger.

She had presented a flower to the younger one, the prettier one who had drawn pretty triangles over her nose and cheeks and received an "Oh, sweetie!" and a hug for her troubles. Luca thought her idea to raid her grandmother's garden was brilliant although for some reason the elder one didn't think as highly. She also had the light green skin of the prettier one but had said "Oh, Barriss, you can't keep her!".

Luca hadn't liked that much so she decided to watch the two Jedi while they were with the Tribe. She wasn't sure why they were there, maybe it had something to do with the angry neighbours who lived in what her father called a 'city'.

She had trailed around after the Jedi the whole time they were with the tribe, gifting the one with the pretty triangles with things. Like treats from the elders or more flowers from her grandmother's garden. And she tried to understand why the elder one without the pretty triangles didn't like her. Luca didn't find out until the last night the Jedi stayed with them.

She hadn't been able to sleep and had snuck out from the family hut, carefully creeping over her brothers and waiting until Daddy snored to climb over him and Mummy. Then she and her beloved stuffed Gizka had wandered the outskirts of the camp. It was quiet and dark and she liked that, time to be alone with Gizzy. The magic floating metal balls with the pretty lights kept away the angry neighbours and the scary creatures.

Luca and Gizzy had just been making a little garden of their own when she had noticed the pretty triangled Jedi, Barriss, and the older not so pretty one, Luminara, walking in the dark. Luca had been about to go up to them when she realised that they both looked just like Mummy and Daddy did when they want to be alone and her grandmother looked after her and her brothers.

They both had that light in their eyes and that funny look in their face. As she watched the two just stood together, looking out over the plains. Then the pretty Barriss rested her head on the older Luminara's shoulder and older Luminara slipped an arm around pretty Barriss' waist and Luca knew.

She knew why older Luminara hadn't liked her as much, why she had never given her big hugs like pretty Barriss had. It was just like her older brother and his betrothed and the other boy who had started talking to the girl all the time. Her brother hadn't liked the other boy at all. There had been a fight and Luca now knew she was the other boy. No wonder older Luminara hadn't liked her!

So Luca had smiled at the two, they didn't see her, and taking Gizzy she went back to her family's hut. Maybe, thinking about, older Luminara was kind of pretty as well.

Three: A Bounty Hunter

Yevron Darkstar was a skilled bounty hunter, although he may not have been as well known as others. He operated in the shadows and worked only for the highest bidders. The bounties he took were not just beings either; the Corellian had hunted for artefacts or other items of value for his many employees. It was his preferred method of work, easier to execute and easier to get jobs for. And that was how he found himself on the moon of Vendaxa, hunting a Sith holocron for some politician with a Force fetish back on Coruscant.

It had originally seemed to be his unlucky job when he identified a Jedi ship on the moon's surface during his approach, but Fate quickly showed who it favoured when the bounty hunter came across a weakened, weaponless Jedi Padawan on a shoreline not too far off from the holocron's supposed location. All it took was a simple paralysis dart to the neck and the bounty hunter was quickly lugging the Mirilan back to his ship. The ransom on Jedi could be astronomically high and there were always people out there who wanted one.

Yevron had dumped his prisoner in the cargo hold of ship, bound her, and then allowed himself to partake in a shot of Corellian whiskey as a reward. There may be another Jedi out there but his ship was cloaked, nothing could find him, not even a Jedi.

He poured himself another drink and studied the Padawan. Pretty, he thought, approaching and kneeling beside her unconscious form. He racked his eyes appreciatively over her slim build, leering. "You and me can have some fun on the return trip, I bet you've got spirit."

"Get away from her."

A voice as cold as ice sounded behind him and he whirled around; alcohol fumbling his attempts to draw his blaster, the hum of a lightsabre filling the air. Yevron swallowed, nervous for the first time in years. He had never taken on a Jedi before, truly, and how the frag did the Mirilan find the ship let alone get onboard with the cloak still on?

It flashed through his mind that he could die here, alone and forgotten, and he snarled, quickly making a decision. With a swiftness that surprised even his Jedi he whipped his blaster arm down so the weapon pointed at his Padawan prisoner. He smirked, confidence returning quickly. "Your move, and if you make one, I'll kill her."

The look on the second Mirilan Jedi's face was nothing short of terrifying, her eyes seemed to stab at him like knives in the dark and when she spoke her teeth were bared like an animal's. "If you do, I will kill you. And it will be justice, bounty hunter."

Yevron's bravado slipped again as he gazed at the livid Jedi and but then his temper flared. How dare this schutta dictate like this to him, he was the one with the power here. He watched his enemy carefully, trying to find a weakness or a split second distraction he could exploit. And he found something so much more.

As he watched her eyes darted back and forward between her Padawn and Yevron, something not too remarkable, but it was the softening of her face and the warm light he saw in her eyes that made him laugh mockingly. "And here I thought Jedi went without sex and all that."

The Jedi's eyes widened and Yevron saw his chance, fingers tightening on the trigger, arm swinging back to point at the Master before him.

The last thing he saw was his blaster cleaved in two and a green flash heading for his head.

Four: A Medic

Balo-Dun Zant had served the Republic as reserve wartime medic for years. Of course, he had never actually thought that a war would ever erupt anytime soon. So the Zabrak had been forced to leave his successful practise to come to the front lines. Zant was somewhat of an oddity among his people as he seemed to lack the strength and warrior like persona that most of his kind embodied . Instead he was methodical and caring, if somewhat cautious and greedy. Afterall, it had been the money that had made him sign up for the Republic reserve program.

And now the Zabrak was stuck on some Force forsaken planet with the dying and the exploding and the blaster blots and droids. Sure, he was leading the assortment of surgeons and nurses but it was not the sheltered life he had imagined when he became a medic. Plus it was boring, all the clones were the same, you operate on one and you've operated on them all. No, all Zant wanted was to survive the damn war and go back home.

Occasionally things happened to relieve the monotony like a journalist ending up injured while trying to report on the front line or a Jedi General stopping by. On one particular day, though, Zant's Jedi General became his Jedi patient.

The Republic forces had pulled back with a charge planned for very early morning the next day and Zant was busy putting Clones back together again. At least he had been, until a Clone sergeant had burst into the medical headquarters with a Jedi Master who a blaster wound in her side.

Panic had ensued and Zant had been frantically patching the Mirilan up with a bacta patch even as she protested that her Force would heal her, even when she swayed and nearly hit the floor. Rolling his eyes, Zant had spent his meal break muttering about stubborn Jedi. Sure, he became a healer to help people, but the patient had to do something as well!

When he returned to work his first order of business had been to check on his General and change her bacta patches. That was also when his already unusual day became even stranger. As he approached her quarters he heard voices and the whir of a comlink viewing screen. Frowning in confusion, he thought nothing of it until he could make out what was being said.

"Luminara, you could have been-"

"Barriss, I wasn't. There is no emotion. You worry too much."

"For good reason apparently!"

"Barriss-"

"I'm sorry, Luminara. I...I just...if I were to lose you...I know, no attachment and all but we've already crossed that line, haven't we?"

"Yes, it certainly seems so... Barriss, so how goes the war effort with you?"

Zant gasped and stopped dead, nearly dropping the bacta in shock. If he had heard what he thought he heard...He may not know a lot about the Jedi but he lived on Coruscant, he knew the basics. The no love thing. There were reports of Jedi disobeying but...and here he had found some...No. Zant shook his head, thoughts whirling around in it. Turning them in would just get him caught up in it, get him involved in the bureaucracy and would certainly go against his principle to never make waves. No, Zant thought as he turned around, he hadn't seen anything.

Five: A Clone Trooper

It was amazing, CC-1945 'Knives' thought every time he saw Master Luminara Unduli and her former Padawan Barriss Offee in battle. While he and his brothers were loyal to the Republic and model soldiers many developed quirks. He himself had realised that beauty in the universe could be found in so many places, a waterfall, a flower or a battle even. The swirl and flash of lightsabres could be the most graceful thing in the galaxy when they weren't ending life, Knives believed. Watching the pair move in perfect synchronisation took his breath away.

There was something about their partnership in battle that confused him though. Their flawless precision and timing, it was something that even he and his brothers could not achieve. It could be an aspect of the Force, but there something real and worldly to it that he could not put his finger on. His fellow clones laughed at him saying he had been permanently dazed by the flash of lightsabres but Knives still remained curious. He was a Clone Commander, if his brothers could learn to move like Unduli and Offee did, then it would greatly increase their efficiency.

So to that end one night while Master Unduli's fleet was in Hyperspace he had gone along to one of the training rooms aboard the starship to ask his superiors to teach him. It was something that Knives felt justified in asking. Justified and excited, his brothers told thrilling stories of being advised by Masters Yoda and Fisto. The Jedi were kind and generous to them as well as being cunning warriors and soldiers, Knives felt it would be an honour to learn from them.

Upon reaching the training room, however, Knives was meet with a surprise. From the corridor nothing seemed amiss but when he entered the room, already springing to attention and mouth open ready to hail his Generals, Knives froze. The scene before his eyes was not what he had been expecting. Training droids were dismembered over the floor, Master Unduli had Knight Offee pressed up against the wall and was kissing her.

Knives's eyes became as wide as a planet and he chocked, starring at his Generals. Offee was gasping something out, her words short and breathy, and Unduli leaned forward to reply, nuzzling her former Padawan's ear and moving down her check to her neck.

Blinking, Knives swallowed and looked around, realising what he was doing. Mindful of the clank of his armour he backed out of training room, hand over his mouth. Once out he leaned against the wall of the ship, feeling the cold of the metal seep through even his armour. Knives swallowed. He knew about the Jedi code, he knew what he had just witnessed was strictly against regulations and rules. The Trooper looked around wildly, wondering if anyone was approaching and made a decision.

He learned over and activated the door control, locking the training room door. Knives, like all his brothers, believed in following regs and orders, but he also believed in efficiency and friendship. Generals Unduli and Offee's fighting was obviously improved by their relationship , now he understood why his brothers couldn't synchronise like they could, and Knives had to admit he cared about his superior officers. He wouldn't breathe a word.

One Who Didn't: Anakin Skywalker

Anakin Skywalker was furious, conflicted and miserable. He paced the halls of the Jedi Temple like a dark cloud, causing the Younglings and Padawans to flee from his path. How are the Jedi Council, how _dare _they? He had been told he would return to Coruscant for a week before his next deployment in the war but now, just a mere day after he arrived, he was being shipped off again! He wouldn't even get to see Padme on this stop over, she wasn't due to arrive until tomorrow, same day he was leaving! The unfairness of it all!

Anakin couldn't see how pig headed or selfish his thoughts were, so consumed by his rage. Nor could he see Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee ahead of him in the hall way. He didn't see the nervous looks they directed at each other nor their hurried attempts to access Luminara's quarters. He was also blind to the obvious affection and love in their eyes each time the two Mirilan's gaze crossed. Anakin, so caught up in his own affairs, had no way of knowing that the two Jedi were also farewelling each other as the would be departing to the Mid-Rim as part of the war effort.

No, Anakin missed all this as he stormed down the hall way, thinking how his relationship with his wife made his posting so unreasonable.

_A/N: Yay! My second Luminara/Barriss fanfic. It may not be a popular pairing but it's dear to my heart. If anyone is interested, this is a companion piece to my other L/B fic, Fever Dream but it is only that. A companion. Like part of Fever Dream the first section of this fic is a reference to the Star Wars novel, The Approaching Storm. Special ultra thanks to my beta Nanuk Dain (you can find her amazing work on livejournal) who stepped in to help me out when my usual beta was snowed under with life. _


End file.
